Books Whose Cover Don't Match

I just had a haircut recently, since my hair was getting a tad unruly. So it went down really short at the sides, with a geometric slant fringe, kinda punky club boy look. All at the hairstylist's persuasion.

So as usual, I went about my daily life.

Then someone commented that I look like a BAD BOY.

Hmm... Now, the word BAD BOY springs images of Harleys and leather jackets, with midnight ink shades and knuckle dusters to my mind. Couple that with hard fast racing, some rough sex and lotsa lotsa macho masculine appeal. THAT'S a BAD BOY.

Which obviously is nothing like me.

So I was just saying. People that know me will never refer to me as a bad boy in a million lightyears. I mean, seriously. I like to read, stay at home on rainy days. I like singing, dancing music. My favorite show at the moment is Glee. Like, I'm practically a poster child for everything a BAD BOY should NOT BE.

Yet one look at my hairstyle, and I'm deemed a BAD BOY.

It got me thinking. How many people have been stereotyped, one way or another, just by the way they present themselves. Just by how they look.

In a sense, people react symbiotically with their first impression, and unless certain traits point out otherwise, they actually build-up a mental perception of how you are SUPPOSEDLY like, based on their early judgment, without getting to know the person as an individual.

In short, they treat a person based on how they stereotype him/ her to be.

This is obviously not surprising. It's been going on for God knows how long. Everyone has experienced it.

In fact, a few articles have also pointed out that 'ugly' people are generally less favored in preferance for average to good-looking people:

http://www.thepolitic.com/archives/2005/04/07/beauty-and-wealth/
http://www.halfsigma.com/2007/02/the_ugliness_ta.html

Which is worrying and disturbing, since beauty is obviously a personal choice. Also, this matter will restrict the independent movement of individuality, since the advent of conventional beauty will basically compartmentalize people into categories and set beauty scales.

How will you react if an employer chooses someone deemed better looking then you for the job, even if both of you have identical resumes and working experience?

There is evidently no law to protect such people.

However, how can we quell discrimination, with the introduction of a Bill of Rights for Ugly Human Beings?

Hmmm....